Directed by Steffen Geypens, Noise is a mystery-thriller movie released on March 17th, 2023. It follows the story of a man who returns to his old home and discovers dark secrets about his family. The movie is available on Netflix for streaming purposes.
This Belgian thriller stars actor Ward Kerremans known for his roles in Penoza and Blackout, as the main lead, Matthias or Matt. Sallie Harmsen, famous for her roles in In Real Life and Moloch, plays Matt’s wife, Liv, and Actor Johan Leysen as Pol, Matt’s father. Apart from the main cast, the film has a small but amazing ensemble of talented actors for its supporting roles.
The movie revolves around Matt, an influencer and a new parent to his son Julius; he visits his parent’s home and gets his hands on his insane father’s dark past. He continues digging further into an accident at a local factory and finds more horrifying secrets related to his family.
The movie is written by Robin Kerremans and Hasse Steenssens and has a short running time of one and a half hours. Since its release, Noise has garnered mostly mixed reviews from its viewers and critics.
Noise Movie Plotline
The movie, Noise starts with a young couple, Matt and Liv, entering a big mansion in the countryside with their newborn son, Julius. Matt is a famous and successful social media influencer, and Liv; his girlfriend, has a catering business. The house the couple moves into is revealed to be Matt’s home, where he grew up as a child and is currently being taken care of by his father.
The house in the countryside is far from civilization, with only a nursing home nearby. Matt’s father, the Pol, lives at the nursing home as he has dementia. Throughout the introduction scene, Matt does not stop explaining his influencer job and dives into the content he creates and the sponsorships he gets.
He does not stop talking about how most of his son’s stuff is also what he received for free as sponsored items. Like any other gen z, Matt is sometimes completely engrossed in content creation, ignoring his son. We are introduced to another character, Timme, Liv’s younger brother, who sometimes helps Matt with his work.
Pol’s dementia makes him do strange things, like walk from the nursing home to his actual house and stand by the pond in the garden. In one scene, Matt escorts Pol back to his retirement home, and on the way back, we witness Pol’s deteriorated mental condition.
He talks of how he dug the pond for her because Matt’s now-dead mother wanted a pond. Another such instance is when they cross an old abandoned factory; on the way to the nursery, Pol mutters something about an accident at that factory under his breath. It sounds incoherent, but we can’t do something related to a warning and him cleaning things up.
We hear him talk of some floods and how a lot happened at the factory, and now may be the right time to find out about it. Matt and the viewers do not pay much attention to half of what he is saying, but when he hints at some mystery, Matt’s ears perk up, and Pol has all his attention.
Matt’s Curiosity or obsession?
It is predictable why Matt was so interested in a possible mystery at this factory. He had a lot of followers and was successful, but at the same time, he was struggling to put out new content. The secrets of the abandoned factory could be the key to resolving all his work issues. He decides to ask his followers whether or not he should dig into this story.
It starts innocently, only to keep his followers satisfied. He tries to dig into anything related to that factory, online or otherwise. He joins Timme, Liv’s brother, and they agree to venture out to the rundown place to see what they find. He discovers that the place is a chemical plant and that his father used to work there.
The factory was one of the worst things that could happen to the people of that neighborhood. The chemical plant was causing physical problems like trouble breathing or irritation in their eyes. Eventually, Matt lands at an online article That covered the biochemical accident that had taken place at the factory years ago.
It was mentioned that the factory’s basement had flooded, with five people still stuck inside. Those people ended up dying, and the families decided to take the factory owner to court. At that time, Pol was the factory manager and was forced to take all responsibility for the accident. He got fired from his job, and the factory was closed forever.
Matt sat with his father to get more information on the matter, as the latter had previously mentioned some secrets that were locked away for good. Pol is not the most reliable source to get factual information. Still, Matt gets ahead of himself and convinces himself that a lot more people died than just those five people and that maybe Pol knew something about it, which led to him being forced to quit his job.
Liv tries to make Matt see things objectively and reminds him that his father has dementia. What started as pure Curiosity turns into an obsession for Matt. Liv finds herself unable to adjust well in the town with creepy townspeople who seem very two-faced and creepy.
Matt’s obsession takes a toll on him mentally, gradually becoming more sensitive to loud sounds and having nightmares of a baby crying non-stop. It gets to the point where Liv cannot leave him alone with Julius as he grows more aggressive toward his son.
Matt suffers from hallucinations and grows more paranoid. Matt and Timme visit the factory only to find a dead animal, which seems plausible, but Matt is convinced there s more to the story. He eventually feels like he is experiencing the same symptoms that the people here felt when the factory was still alive.
Liv’s Intervention
In blind paranoia, Matt accidentally hits Timme on the head, and instead of helping his wife’s brother, he runs from the place. Time is left injured and bleeding at the factory. Back at home, Matt tries his best to treat his wife as lovingly as possible out of guilt,
Liv investigates Matt’s family history with the help of neighbors and finds that the two went through a lot mentally after the death of Michelle, Matt’s mother and Pol’s wife. She finds with Pol documents of health records of Michell being diagnosed with anxiety and psychosis.
He tells her that she had taken Matt and jumped into the pond by the lawn to end their lives. The mystery has completely devoured Matt, and Liv decides to leave Matt thinking all hope has been lost for him. Matt has even pushed his father away and now cares about nothing but the mystery behind the factory.
Liv’s discovery about the family ancestor clears many things about Matt’s behavior. The fact that Michelle’s issues were heredity meant that part of it must have been passed down to Matt. On the other hand, Matt is convinced that the manor has dead bodies buried in its basement, and he ends up digging a hole in it.
He discovers nothing but a hole full of water, which he jumps into. Liv tries to save him, but instead, he pulls her in, ad both struggle to save themselves. Pol comes to their rescue, showing a full circle starting with Pol being unable to save his wife and now managing to pull out both his son and wife.
The movie ends with Matt, now on medications, staring at the pond where he almost drowned in his childhood, with his wife and son Julius by his side.
Noise Movie Review
This Belgian psychological thriller seems to end with everything wrapped up neatly, but the viewers find certain unanswered questions. What happened to Matt’s mental issues or what happened to his father, Pol, or what was the meaning behind his smile right before the credits rolled in? These questions may make you feel frustrated, but overall, the movie conveyed what it had to.
What we take from the movie after watching it is that Matt is a guy with childhood trauma that is suppressed deep within, and when he enters his childhood home, the place triggers all of those memories leading to deeply erratic behavior. That is the entire movie in a sentence.
The movie takes its own sweet time laying the plot down and getting to the actual thriller portion of it. Some call it slow but organic, and others may call it boring and stretched. The movie makes you crave a mind-boggling twist at the end with the factory or maybe something related to the father, but it becomes a story about a man’s descent into madness.
Actor Ward Kerremans does an amazing job of expressing Matt’s mental struggles and how he loses his grip on reality. His face expresses so much emotion, even with slight changes in his expressions. He managed to bring Matt alive. Sallie Harmsen, as Liv, did not have much of a role except for near the climax, where she finds out the truth about Matt’s family and tries to save him.
Johan Leysen, as Pol, has portrayed his character very convincingly, too, and he shares great chemistry with his on-screen son Matt. The movie, Noise is less of an active thriller with twists and turns and is a more slow-paced mystery based on Matt’s obsessive ways. The premise of the story is nothing outrageous and is believable.
It is very interesting to see Matt slowly lose all control over himself and get absorbed by his father’s nonsensical story. His genetics leading to a higher probability of anxiety and depression is the cause behind the entire mystery. That may be disappointing to many who were probably expecting some big revelation.
The story, till its end, convinces you that something very evil is lurking in the woods of this countryside town. The people are made out to be unfriendly and keep to themselves, not opening up to Matt and Liv. The background setting is a deserted town with an abandoned factory, which makes you expect a horrifying secret hidden by the townspeople. Still, it ends with Matt’s mental illness and Liv being paranoid.
The movie is more about Matt going from having general Curiosity about something to becoming so obsessed that it leads to the audience worrying about his son’s life. The mystery behind what happened at the factory and the deaths of those five people trapped takes more of a secondary role.
But the thing with this is that the descent into madness is so slow throughout the movie and comes on so suddenly at the end that the audience is left confused about what happened. Matt’s deteriorating mental health is so subtle and nuanced that many may overlook it. It suddenly overtaking the movie’s climax makes it less impactful and impressive.
Though a small cast of actors has made this movie as realistic as possible, it does not feel gripping. It is also strange in that it is slow-paced, but it also feels rushed because of its short running time. Matt’s trauma was well expressed but not very well explored.
Our Verdict
The generational trauma passed from mother to son does not hit hard. It had potential as a psychological thriller but spent too much time on unnecessary jumpscares trying to convince the audience of some evil ghostly presence. When you look at the bigger picture in the movie, Noise, the entire brief of it starts looking silly.
The movie explores many themes related to mental health, childhood trauma, and attempting suicide. Still, it never truly gets to the core of these themes and, for the most part, leaves them hanging and half-baked, which is unsatisfactory for the viewers.
Noise makes for a decent thriller that does not completely utilize the talent it has employed. The movie heavily depends on the big secret reveal at the end, but there is no secret in the first place, which is disappointing. The movie’s climax may feel forced and underwhelming, and the story is not mind-blowing.
Our Rating: ⭐ (2.6/5).
Also Read: 6 Psychological Thrillers on Netflix You Stream Today – TV Shows Recommendations
